Police investigate mother of abused child

JARED DENNISTON

Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Lawyers for the Brazoria County District Attorney's office said that they will be referring the case to a grand jury next month in order to see if there is enough evidence to charge Bridgett Farmer with anything over the death of her daughter-a situation brought about by "a case of chronic child abuse," according to Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne.

James Yost, Bridgett's boyfriend and father of two of \her children-ages 20 months and 8 months-has been charged with injury to a child after an autopsy revealed that Anna died of blunt force trauma; the autopsy also found the girl to be suffering from malnourishment and a lacerated liver, along with scars from previous injuries.

Bridgett Farmer had stated before that she placed the 911-call around 3 a.m. after finding her daughter unconscious on the floor of her bedroom after a quarrel with Yost, 41. She told police that, during the altercation, she heard a thump from her daughter's bedroom followed by an "ouch." She then said that when she discovered her daughter just before midnight she attempted to revive Anna, but was discouraged from further attempts by Yost, who reportedly told her that it was no use trying to revive her; Bridgett said that Yost told her Anna was gone.

After that, Farmer told authorities that Yost took all of the phones from the trailer home, along with pictures of him-all but one-before he fled to Dallas, where he was finally arrested at a motel on New Years Day around 10:30 p.m. Officers from the Anti Auto Theft Squad waited for Yost to return to his motel room after they spotted his 1988 Chevrolet Suburban.

Earlier this month, a court gave custody of their two children, a 20-month-old and a 8-month-old, to Child Protective Services and did not grant visitation rights to either Yost or Farmer.

CPS had dealt with the couple before in May 2001, when Yost was suspected of abusing Anna's female cousin-then 14-years-old.

No charges were ever filed and Anna and her sister were returned to the home. The cousin went to live with her grandmother in Madisonville, according to CPS records.

Yost's brother, Randy Yost, said that his brother called him on Dec. 30 and told him that Bridgett Farmer was involved, but asserted that Anna's death was an accident.